Council candidates in Hamburg discuss background and issues

HAMBURG — With the June 4 primary right around the corner, candidates for the Hamburg council took some time to answer questions from the Advertiser News South.

How long have you been a borough resident?

John Burd: 22 years, married to my wife Deanna for 23 years and have two children, ages 19 and 15.

Russell Law: 16 Years.
Joyce Oehler: 27 Years.

Chris Kelly: I have been a lifelong resident of Sussex County and have lived in Hamburg with my wife, Renee, for 25 years.

Do you have prior political experience? In Hamburg?

John Burd: I have served on the board of education for 12 years, eight of which as vice president. I also served as Personnel, Finance and Negotiation Chairman.

Russell Law: I have five-and-a-half-years active service on the borough council and will be serving the remaining half year through December 31.

Joyce Oehler: I have served nine years on the Hamburg Borough Council.

Chris Kelly: I served three terms as a councilman in Hamburg. I was a member of the Sussex County Solid Waste Advisory Council and the Water Quality Policy Advisory Committee for eight years. I was also elected chair of the Sussex County Republican Committee for Hamburg for 8 years.

What party ticket are you running on?

John Burd: Republican
Russell Law: Republican

Joyce Oehler: Republican
Chris Kelly: Republican

What do you think are the biggest issues facing Hamburg?

John Burd: Ratables, there is just not enough space available the way our town is set up. If we had more, that would go a long way toward our tax base.

Russell Law: Maximizing public service at the same time maintaining the tax rate. Lowering the turnover rate at the police department is also a concern.

Joyce Oehler: One issue is our volunteer emergency services. Although we have a good volunteer fire department and EMS,getting new young volunteers is tough. For EMS, the state stopped paying for EMT's education. The borough has picked up the cost right now without increasing the EMS budget, though we don’t know how long we will be able to do that. The initial EMT class is around $1,200, which is too much to ask a volunteer to pay. To stay an EMT you need continuing education which could cost that much more. As a volunteer you have a lot of responsibilities and not many young people are ready to take on all the work to volunteer. So we need to support our emergency services not only financially but also backing them as they try to get new volunteers.

Chris Kelly: Taxes
How fiscally conservative do you consider yourself? What types of projects are you willing to spend money on?

John Burd: I would consider myself conservative. However, I’m willing to listen to any project that is good for the town, its taxpayers, and to make sure we don’t lose any services. I think it’s always good to add to the new park we have. More courts, lights and viewing stands are all things that come to mind.

Russell Law: I feel we must maintain our water, sewer and road infrastructure first and foremost without having to bond out the projects consistently. I also think that the money spent on our recreation department for the children and seniors is very well spent and I will continue to support them in the future.

Joyce Oehler: I consider myself fairly fiscally conservative. Any money spent must benefit the borough. We just got a new ambulance which was very much needed, although it was over $130,000. We will no longer have the 18-year-old ambulance, so maintenance and repair costs will be less. No matter how little or much, any money spent must benefit the borough and save us money in the long run.

Chris Kelly: I believe I am as fiscally conservative as most of the residents here in Sussex County, which is fairly conservative. Obviously, money must be spent on infrustructure and core government operations. Other areas i would advocate spending would have to have a clear benefit to the residents of Hamburg.

What is your opinion of the current budget? Of the borough’s tax rate?

John Burd: I think the budget tax levy was kept somewhat low, around 2.5 percent. It’s really hard not to have any increase with increases in health insurance, pay and energy costs to mention a few. I also know we always have to keep monies in surplus for needed projects, if you don’t, something comes up and you will only have to raise taxes anyway. Take appeals for instance, Franklin was hit with a five percent increase for that very reason.

Russell Law: The mayor and council have worked very hard along with the professionals there to advise and instruct us to maintain the lowest tax rate while we have been able to keep the services at a very high level.

Joyce Oehler: I believe the Hamburg Council does well with the borough’s budget. Every year we get automatic increases that we must pay, i.e. school and state taxes. We are able to maintain our other responsibilities without large increases.

Chris Kelly: I believe overall Hamburg has done a good job with the budget. Hamburg is currently planning a town-wide reassessment which should make the tax structure more fair for all borough residents.

Is there anything you’d do differently if given the opportunity?

John Burd: No, I served on the board of education for 12 years. I chaired the committee that brought the shared service agreement with Franklin (sharing the business administrator) and saving our town thousands per year. I also chaired the negotiations that worked out an agreement with the HEA to switch health care coverage to the state health care benefits program, which saves taxpayers money as well.

Russell Law: I would have liked to work a little harder at convincing fellow Council members to maintain the chief’s position at the police department and work with past members to try to slow down the turnover rate within the department.

Joyce Oehler: No
Chris Kelly: Not sitting in on the budget discussions this year, it is easy to be a backseat driver and make assumptions about the budget. I understand the need to carry and increase the fund balance or surplus to cover unexpected and future capital expenditures, but I would have preferred a smaller increase in the fund balance, using some of the excess revenue to keep the tax increase at least closer to zero percent for the year.